A Huntman's Life For Me
by HellianDemonSpawn
Summary: A promise. An un-honest man can break one. But what if the man is honest, but is someone you would never expect to be? For a pirate lives by no code, unless you are Ebon. For amongst all of the pirates in Remnant, he is not only the most feared and ruthless, but the most kind. And it is that kindness that has brought him to Beacon. Rated T for language, suggested themes.
1. A Pirate's Promise

**A/N: Hello! I am back with a new story! I had this idea, and after seeing only a few stories like it on the site, that I would take a crack at it myself. RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth and the late Monty Oum. Why would I be here if I owned it? Being that I am still relatively new at writing these, feedback and reviews are always welcome. They're my way of giving exposition that I may not be able to give otherwise. Anyway, you came here for a reason, so on with the story.**

* * *

 _Through the centuries stories have been told that depict people of legend. Their deeds of honor and heroism are respected to this day. But there are also the tales of the bad and villainous. Thieves who stole more than they could carry. Killers who were never caught. Assassins who fell kings. But the group that often captures the imagination the most are pirates._

 _The men who would sail the seas in search of treasure and would sink any ship in there path. They have had their stories passed down, and the result is treasure hunters in search of a pirates hoard, and more pirates looking to make a profit by robbing ships._

 _Today, there are very few left. They have been hunted down by the world's governments. But the ones who are a ruthless killing machines. Or so we are taught. One pirate is not ruthless. He shows mercy to those he robs. Offers to return prisoners back to land, with supplies to last them till they are rescued from the island they are left on. Yet, he can also be cruel. Those he kills are done so brutally. When he is done with a ship, he will sink it. And he is relentless. This man captains the Dragonfire. He is called Ebon Nightshade._

-Ian Hel, _King of the Pirates_

* * *

The Schnee Dust Company lookout peered into the thick fog that surrounded the freighter. He hated days like this. By the time you see a threat to the ship, it could be too late. He had been watching for hours, and thankfully, there was nothing to report. Little did he know of the approaching danger.

Out of the fog another ship could be seen. A dark grey it was, and had a single flag on it. The flag bore a red background, with a black serpent wrapped around a pale skull, and a dagger stabbing down through the skull. Only one ship bore that flag. The near-legendary pirate ship, Dragonfire.

The scout saw that flag and raised the alarm immediately, for no ship has ever survived against the Dragonfire.

He picked up the the phone to the bridge and said,"Captain, the Dragonfire is approaching. Fast."

The communications system rang out immediately with the captains voice," All men, battle stations! The Dragonfire is coming!"

The crew moved quickly, preparing the turrets and grabbing guns to hold the ship. The pirate ship continued its slow movement towards the freighter. It suddenly took to the sky, revealing the entire ship.

It was 100 feet long, and forty tall. It's front half was thinner than the back. Many turrets and mortars could be seen. It had two massive canons hanging from the bottom. And those weapons were armed.

* * *

Aboard the Dragonfire, the crew was preparing to fire. The first mate came up to the Captain, who was currently gazing out the window towards the ship they were to attack, in order to inform him that they were ready.

"Sir, she is ready to attack," he said. The pirate captain turned around. He wore a red and black leather armor set, with black leggings and a black cloak and hood. On his left hip was a deadly looking cutlass on a brown belt. Across his chest was one pistol and a sawn-off shotgun. He wore a silvery gauntlet on his left hand, that had a strange dust capsule on it. His hair was black as night, and red eyes that seemed to be very wise, despite the captain only being 18.

"Good to hear it. Take the ship and then wait for my word. As always, spare no man until they surrender," the young captain told his first mate.

"Will you be joining the fight?"

"When we board, yes," the captain said with only a hint of a smile.

The first mate turned to leave and order the attack when the ships received a transmission.

"Schnee Freighter 7 to Dragonfire do you copy?"

The captain picked up the microphone,"I copy. Am I correct in assuming you are contacting us to make a deal of some sort."

"No. Well, sorta. Would you be willing to take the dust and leave us be?"

"Err.. No. I need a freighter for some business endeavors."

"Please. We have VIPs on board," the Schnee captain took a more pleading tone.

"…Are you retarded? You just told a pirate that you have people that could probably be held for ransom."

"…Um… I mean.. err.."

"Here, how 'bout this? You give me half the dust on board, of each type, and the VIPs, and I'll let you go."

There was a few moments of of silence before the other captain responded,"No. We can not do that."

"And so I will take your ship," the pirate captain said, then looked at his first mate,"Attac-"

"Wait," a new voice said on the transmitter,"I have an offer for you. One that involves paying off one of your debts."

The pirate's eyes narrowed,"And that would be?"

"Do you recall a certain Ruby Rose?" the voice said, almost smugly.

"…Yes."

"Well you will be happy to know that she was accepted into Beacon two years early. Do you recall the promise you made to her?"

"I wouldn't call it a debt. How do you know about that anyway?"

"She mentioned it to her team. She is still waiting. Do you intend to fulfill it?"

"Wouldn't I just get arrested when I coming ashore?"

"I can arrange for you to not be."

Gears finally turned in the captains head,"Your Ozpin aren't you? And you would like me to join Beacon correct?"

"Yes. Now then, do you accept?"

"Yes, I do. But didn't classes already start?"

"We can work around that. Can you go tomorrow?"

"If I get to keep my ship and my crew can stay on the ground. Have them do odd jobs for rent."

"Very well then. See you tomorrow then Mr. Nightshade," Ozpin finished.

Nightshade's first mate spoke first," Are you mad, Ebon? You going to get yourself thrown in prison!"

"This is a due I must pay. Call the men to the mess hall. I'll explain it to them."

"What is this promise?"

"..I had promised to protect her."

"But you're a pirate. You don't need keep a promise!"

"Yet I normally do, especially if it was made before I became a pirate. Even more so if it was made to a little girl."

The first mate tried to press for more details, but finally gave up and gathered the crew.

* * *

The trip to Beacon was uneventful. Ebon had given instructions to his crew to not cause much trouble, as they would be guests. He was worried. Could it be a ruse? No, he had to try to make good on his years-old promise.

He arrived during lunch. Ozpin had decided to add Ebon to Ruby's team, so he can make good on his promise with relative ease. Walking over to his new team he pushed his doubts aside. It was time to begin fulfilling his promise. He had lived a pirate's life. Perhaps it was time to live the life of a Huntsman.

* * *

 **A/N: And there you have it. I don't think I need to repeat myself, so I won't. I would like to ask something of all of you. If you go to my profile, you'll notice a layout for OC submissions. If you have one in mind, send it here. My OCs tend to reflect me and my friends, so they will get old after a while. Well, that and the fact that the only other characters I have ever created are invincible, though those were for sorted school projects when I was younger and I needed a Deus Ex Machina (while not knowing what that meant).**

 **So with your help I would like OC submissions. These will always be open. If I don't put your OC into one story, I'll try to put it in for another one. This story currently has 3 OC slots. One for the first mate, and another 2 for crew. No, there will not be a team of pirates. Just need them for other things. That number will update until the slots are filled. Don't worry if you're not the third submission. I won't be picking them until I need them. And I won't for several chapters.**

 **Now that an overly long explanation is done, enjoy your day!**


	2. New Friends

**A/N: Hello again! I must say I am surprised at the attention this story got. That is by no means a bad thing. Anyway, Here is the second chapter. Oh, and expect many references to pirate in pop culture. That includes but is not limited to: songs, famous lines, etc. I do not own these. I would also like to thank my editor for looking this over for me. That being said, lets begin.**

 **RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and the late Monty Oum. I** **wouldn't be writing a fanfic if I did, I would be working on the show.**

* * *

Team RWBY looked at the new student with mild curiosity as he walked over to their table. He was of normal height, with a muscular frame. His face was clean shaven and hawk-like in appearance. Yang found him rather attractive.

"Hello, is this team RWBY?" he asked.

"Yep! You must be our new teammate. What's your name?" Ruby asked.

Ebon, knowing who she was, replied with mock surprise,"What? You don't recognize me Ruby? I know it has been years, but I haven't changed that much, have I?"

Ruby's eyes squinted at the student before opening them wide,"E-Ebon?" Ruby embraced her old friend whilst smiling.

Weiss looked up at the pirate, eyes growing angry at the mention of that name. To her, this is yet another insult. First she gets put on a team where the leader is a child, but she is willing to give young Ruby a chance as Professor Port had said to. Now a pirate joins, not only Beacon, but her team as well. She had no idea why this was happening to her.

"Okay, okay, Ruby. Come on, let go," Ebon said gently to the still hugging Ruby. Ruby reluctantly released her grip.

"Where have you been?" Ruby asked with a big smile on her face.

"Hehe.. I've a.. been robbing ships," he replied with sullen eyes.

"What?! You mean that they weren't lying?" Ruby was taken aback, smile gone at once. Her friend was a pirate?

"I'm afraid so. It was a sorrowful existence mind you, though the fights were fun."

Before she could respond, Weiss cut in,"Why are you here? A _rat_ like you should be in prison."

"I am here to fulfill a promise. I believe Ruby told you of it?" Ebon in a calm voice.

"And why should you keep it? You'll just harm her. That's all a pirate like you ever does!"

Ebon muttered someone about two years before replying,"Because I keep my promise. You may remember my old self, but know that I have changed."

Weiss, not finding anything else to say for the moment simply glared at him.

Ebon expected that outburst. He knew the who members of team RWBY were, and knew Weiss would be problematic. Not letting it phase him, he then turned to the blonde,"Good to see you again Yang. You've grown quite a bit."

Yang knew that she would have to keep an eye on Ebon, but blushed slightly at the comment non the less,"You too, Ebon."

Ebon nodded and turned to a raven-haired girl with a bow,"And you must be Blake?"

"Yes," the girl said, seemingly shy.

"Well met Blake. Now than were do I get food? I haven't eaten yet today."

* * *

After lunch, team RWBY and Ebon traveled to their dorm. Ebon followed closely, memorizing its location for later. Arriving at the dorm, Ruby ran her scroll over the doors lock, opening it. Ebon had noticed that she seemed a bit scared of him, and he couldn't blame her. Having a reputation of 'no surviving ships' tends to cause that reaction. They stepped inside.

"A bit small, isn't it?" Ebon remarked.

"Yeah, where are you going to sleep?" Yang asked, half to Ebon, half to no one.

"That chair should do nicely." Ebon said, pointing at the desk chair in the corner.

"The chair?" Ruby, who had moved a fair distance away, asked.

"Yep. I don't need more than three hours of sleep anyway."

It was Weiss' turn to be surprised,"Only three hours? How?" She was curious about Ebon, despite not liking him.

"I've been on a ship for almost a decade. I am its captain, so I sorta have to keep it from crashing. And be ready for a raid. So I sleep on a chair next to the wheel for around ten minutes at a time."

"Ooohh, that makes sense I guess." Ruby said.

"Well," Ebon said, noticing the time and clapping his hands together,"you have a class in a few minutes, right? Mine start tomorrow by th-"

"A few minutes?!" All of team RWBY said in unison, looking at the room's clock. They had four minutes. The team scrambled out the door to their class, Ebon close behind. They rushed through Beacon to the lecture hall were Professor Port taught.

* * *

Ebon left shortly after team RWBY. He had been told to go and talk to Ozpin by a official at the dock. He had wanted to meet his team first though. So he did. Now he is riding the elevator up to Ozpin's office. When the doors opened he walked towards the desk where the famed, white haired man sat, he took note of the room around him.

Ozpin's office was large, and filled to the brim with gears. Said gears appeared to have no purpose other that décor. As Ebon continued to walk towards the desk, he saw that the desk had gears in it as well.

Ozpin started the conversation,"Hello Ebon, take a seat."

Ebon did so,"Thank you Oz- Professor. So you wanted to talk?"

"Yes. You understand that you can not continue being a pirate while you're here, right?"

"I sorta figured that. That is not all though, is it?"

"No it is not. First off, I was wondering if you intend to become a Huntsman."

Ebon's face grew deeply troubled, as if it was a question he feared,"I don't know. I-I never considered it. I don't think- I don't think I will be."

"Okay then. And then there is the matter of you crew."

"What of them?" Ebon's face changed from troubled to worried. Had his crew already gotten in trouble?

"We don't have enough space for all of them."

Ebon relaxed noticeably at this,"Have them sleep on my ship. In addition to providing quarter, it could be useful if I ever need the thing."

"They will be okay with that?"

"They've lived on a boat for years. They can handle it."

"Ok then. Oh, and you got your class schedule right?"

"Yes. How did you get my number?"

"I did some digging."

"Well okay then. Bye Professor." Ebon said as he got up and walked the the elevator, thinking about Ozpin's second question.

* * *

Late that night Ebon woke up from another sleep cut short by nightmares. He could remember a time when he didn't have them. What he would give to go back to that point. As he sit in his chair waiting to fall back asleep, he heard a cry of despair from Ruby's unstable bed. He got up and went to see what the noise was for.

As he approached the bed through the darkness, he saw it was shaking about. Apprehensive of the possibility of the ropes failing, he stepped onto the bookcase next to the beds.

Ruby was asleep on her bed twitching violently. Ebon recognized it as the symptoms of a nightmare, himself having them. Something came over him in that movement. The need to help her. Ebon reached out and began to gently run his hand through Ruby's hair. Ruby seemed to calm down at this and began to wake up.

"E-Ebon?" She asked in her drowsy state.

"Shh.. Go back to sleep. You were having a nightmare," he said.

Ruby rolled over and began drifting into a restful sleep. As she did so, Ebon continued to stroke her hair, and, to farther help her back to sleep, began to sing softly, despite not knowing anything other than shanties.

" _Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me._

 _We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot._

 _Drink up me 'earties, yo ho._

 _We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot._

 _Drink up me 'earties, yo ho._

 _Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me."_

Ruby listened to Ebon sing as she drifted into unconsciousness. As she fell asleep, she hoped that Ebon hadn't done all that he sung of.

* * *

 **A/N: There you have it. I certainly hope you enjoyed, and I hope to see you back. And as always, feel free to send me** **criticism and feedback.**


	3. The Initiation

**A/N: I am so sorry! This took way too long. And for that I am sorry. I started with taking break for finals, then I just became lazy. As such, I am releasing this chapter without having it edited as to get it to you guys ASAP. So please excuse any mistakes.**

 **Now, on to other things. I have only had one OC submitted so far, so if you have one, feel free to submit.**

 **Now that that is taken care of, enjoy the chapter!**

 **I do not own RWBY. Rooster Teeth does.**

* * *

Weiss opened her eyes the next morning. She laid in bed for a moment before she sat up and got out of bed. Turning to go for a shower, she saw Ebon, already fully awake, leaning over the a desk, writing in a journal.

"Mornin'," he said.

"Um.. Good morning," Weiss said, not expecting him to be up, herself being the early riser in the dorm.

"What? Were you expecting me to still be asleep?" He asked, as if he could read her mind.

"As a matter of fact, I was," Weiss responded harshly.

"No need to get your panties in a bunch. Go, do whatever it is you girls do in the mornings and leave me to my thoughts."

Weiss did so, but as she closed the door, she could have sworn she heard a sound like the gas releasing from a soda bottle, but saw no such thing when she opened the door ever so slightly more looked over at Ebon. Shrugging it of as her mind playing tricks on her, she simply closed the door and took her shower.

* * *

Eventually the rest of the team awoke, and after getting ready, they all headed down to the cafeteria for breakfast. As they arrived, they noticed Team JNPR was already eating.

"Hey guys," Ruby said as she sat down, along with the rest of her team.

"Hello," Pyrrha replied, then looked at Ebon,"Are you the new student?"

Ebon extended his hand,"Yep. The name's Ebon Nightshade."

Pyrrha, who had been extending her hand to meet Ebon's, immediately pulled it back, while Ren and Nora looked up from their pancakes, and Jaune attempted to move backwards without getting up and feel over.

"Y-you mean THE Ebon Nightshade? T-the pirate?" Jaune said as he pulled himself back up.

Ebon smirked,"And who else would I be? I am the captain of the Dragonfire, and I am a pirate. But, I am not here on mischief."

"Then what are you here for?" Pyrrha asked, suspicion in her eyes.

"I have a promise to keep. Simple as that."

"Excuse me, but since when does a pirate keep a promise?" Ren asked.

"Is there some law saying that a pirate can't ke-," Ebon said before getting cut off by the PA system.

"Can Team RWBY please report to the amphitheater, can team RWBY report to the amphitheater. Thank you," A feminine voice said over the PA system.

"What's that about?" Yang asked out loud.

"I might know," Ebon replied.

* * *

"Hello. Today is Mr. Nightshade's initiation," Ozpin said when Team RWBY arrived," As such, I would like you girls to take position on that side of the ring, and you, Ebon on the other."

Glynda spoke next,"This will be a tournament style match. When your aura hits the red, or if you are hit out of the ring, you are out. Ready? Begin."

Yang started first by charging at Ebon.

Ebon responded by pulling out his sawn-off shotgun and firing at his opponent once she was at close range, sending Yang flying backwards several yards.

Weiss went in next, but was cut off by an over-eager Ruby.

"Ruby!" She yelled in surprise, almost hitting her partner.

"Sorry!" Ruby shouted back as she dashed forwards, semblance activated.

Ebon barely dodged the speeding scythe wielder, and, spinning to the side, unholstered his pistol and emptied a clip into Ruby's back. He was reloading when Yang landed a devastating blow to this head. He reeled back, only to be slashed several times on the chest by Blake.

His armor, however, shielded Ebon from the blade, and he recovered quickly. Drawing his own sword, he charged with astounding speed. Blake was not prepared for such an attack, and it was only by her semblance that she survived.

When Ebon did not hit the solid target he was expecting, he was thrown off balance. Weiss, who had been waiting for such a thing, cut off Blake's follow up, and slashed towards Ebon's legs.

Ebon very nearly lost his leg to the heiress, but kicked his legs back to avoid the rapier. The result of such a move, however, was Ebon being face down on his stomach. Weiss went to stab down at Ebon's back, but he rolled and spun, kicking Weiss off her feet, and then stood up.

Ruby attacked next, spinning her scythe with incredible precision. Ebon took multiple slashes, and would have taken more, had Yang not stepped in and gave Ebon a barrage of immensely powerful blows.

Ebon's aura had dropped to dangerously low levels, and he knew it. So when Yang was about to land another crushing blow, she found that she suddenly couldn't move her arm. Looking at said arm, Yang found that it was incased in ice. Looking up at Ebon, she saw his eyes were glowing an icy blue, before he raised his hand and his eyes turned a fiery red.

Yang couldn't even react. Out of Ebon's hand came a massive fire storm, and it was aimed directly at her. She lost most of her aura in a mere moment, bringing her down to the red.

"Yang Xio Long is out," Glynda announced.

Ebon turned to meet a very shocked Blake, and eyes now an electric blue, blasted Blake with a torrent of lightning that sapped her aura.

"Blake Belladonna is out."

Weiss was next. Ebon used incased his hand in thick ice, as if it was a glove. When Weiss swung, he reached out to grab her sword, but found that it melted right through his ice-gauntlet. Ebon then slashed at Weiss with his sword, which got her away from him, and then blasted her with fire, though considerably less then he shot at Yang. Ebon then sheathed his sword, incased his fists in ice, and charged. Dodging Weiss' next attack, Ebon punched Weiss with deadly force, before finishing her off with an electric blast.

"Weiss Schnee is out."

Now came Ruby. Ebon didn't have time to hit her. He was forced to focus all his attention to blocking Ruby, and waiting for the right moment.

Ruby was lifting her scythe for another swing when he saw the opening. He swiftly reached out and sent a shock through Ruby, sending her the floor. When she shakily got up, Ebon delivered a crippling kick to her chest, knocking her from the ring and bringing her aura to the red.

"Ruby Rose is out. Welcome to Beacon Ebon Nightshade."

Before Glynda was finished, Ebon had already ran off.

* * *

 **A/N: As always feedback is appreciated. Oh, and that was the first fight sequence I have ever written. Was good, bad, decent? Let me know.**


	4. A Trip Aboard the Dragonfire

**A/N: Hey everyone! Long time no see. Sorry about the latest my time, but school happened, then fallout 4 happened... So yeah. Now, this is the unedited version of the chapter, because I can't upload a odd from my phone, and my aunt has usurped my families computer room. So, if you don't want to deal with a bunch of spelling and grammer issues, or the fact that the way a character speaks changes from this version to the next, then please wait a few more days until my aunt leaves. That said, this cheaper has the first submitted OC, who was submitted by TheMAO17.**

 **I don't own RWBY.**

* * *

When Ruby and Yang found him, Ebon was atop the dorms building, looking out over Beacon. They walked up behind him, and stood in silence. Yang was the first to speak,"Ebon, are you ok? You sorta just disappeared there."

Ebon remained silent.

"It's ok Ebon. You can tell us," Ruby said in a motherly voice.

"Leave," Ebon said, almost a whisper.

Ruby shook her head,"No. Something is bothering you. We can help."

"No you can't. No one can," He turned then, his eyes glowing as they did during his initiation. But there was something else. Ebon's eyes flickered, the glow stopping and restarting. As they did he said,"Go now. I'll be fine in a while. Meet me by the docks later, if you like."

"I'm not going," Ruby said stubbornly.

"Yes, you are," Ebon replied in a strained tone.

"No."

"I SAID LEAVE! NOW! UNDERSTAND?" Ebon yelled, his voice void of the kindness he normally had. It instead held the commanding power of a pirate captain.

Ruby and Yang shrank back from the young captain's command. They hadn't expected such an outburst from the usually gentle pirate.

Ruby went to say something more, but Yang stopped her, placing her arm on Ruby's shoulder. After a deep breath, Ruby turned around and left along with her sister.

* * *

Several hours later, Team RWBY found Ebon lounging in a chair, waiting.

"Hello," he said cheerfully as he stood,"I am glad you came."

"Did you want to do something?" Blake asked.

"Yep! This way." He said turning and walking down the wharf.

The team followed him until he stopped in front of a medium sized airship that was very clearly weaponized.

Ruby was literally shaking with excitement,"Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes, Ruby, it is my ship, the Dragonfire, the scourge of the sea and sky."

"Why would we ever want to go on your filthy pirate ship?" Weiss asked coldly.

"Because it's awesome!" Ruby responded.

"No, it won't Ruby. It will be a grimy, disgusting place of debauchery."

Ebon burst out laughing at that," Debauchery?! That's what you come up with? Really?"

"Of course. That's what all pirates do," Weiss said with an absolutely straight face.

"You've been watching too many movies, Weiss. Although you are correct in assuming that many pirates do certain… things, not all of them do. In fact, I don't let my crew practice it. At least, not on my ship"

Before anyone could respond, a voice was heard from from the ship,"Hello Captain! Ready to take your team for a ride?"

"You bet I am. Get down here, Jason!" Ebon yelled back at the voice.

"Jason?" Yang asked,"That's an odd name."

"He's an odd sorta fellow," Ebon replied.

A few moments later, a tall, lean man with brown eyes walk down the gangplank. He had a brown mustache and goatee combination, connected to his sideburns by a thin line of hair that runs along the jawline. He was wearing a white, sleeveless muscle shirt, checkerboard sleeveless vest, jeans with a belt and buckle, a pair of cowboy boots, fingerless biker gloves, and a brown cowboy hat on his head.

As he approached the group, Ebon introduced him,"Girls, meet Jason Jones, my First Mate, and the ships medic."

Jason, with a large grin greets the girls,"Great to meet you all."

Ebon turns to him,"So, is she ready to sail?"

Jason nodded,"You bet. Where did you instead to take them?"

"I was thinking lunch by the Falls."

Nodding his agreement, the turned to go tell the crew their destination.

Ebon turned back to his team," You ready?"

Not waiting for a response, Ebon walked up the gangplank and into his ship.

* * *

A few moments later, Team RWBY boarded, with Weiss being dragged by Yang.

Weiss, of course, was arguing loudly,"And I will not go on this disgus-"

Weiss cuts off as she sees the interior of the Dragonfire. The inside was spotless, with the sober crew moving about with the sir of a military man, doing assorted tasks.

Ebon was grinning,"See what I mean Weiss. I run a pretty tight ship."

They walked up some stairs, then across across the upper deck to the Ebon's quarters in the stern. They all, minus Jason and Ebon, gasped when they walked in. The room was decorated with countless navel antiques, from wheels to swords. In the center sat a desk where a holographic screen was displaying a map. The girls found the room to be, for the lack of a better word, beautiful.

"Wow," Ruby breathed.

"You can say that again," Yang said, in awe as well.

Blake looked about, her normal neutral face on, but Ebon could see her opinion in her eyes, whilst Weiss, who was dumbfounded enough, became even more so at the sight of the room that once again defeated her assumption.

Ebon clasped his hands together, then spoke,"Ok, we should get going if we want to eat lunch near the Falls."

The girls looked at him curiously, as he walked over to the desk and began to tap on the hologram.

"What are 'the Falls'?" Blake asked.

Ebon was still taping the map,"An island with the most spectacular waterfall you have ever seen. It is almost like a stream of dancing color."

Team RWBY let that sink in, as Ebon finished inputing coordinates into the ship. The then grabs a PA microphone and begins speaking,"Morning lads. We're go'n to the Falls. We will have guests for lunch as well."

With that, the ship began to lift away from the docks with a humming sound, and then began the trip to the Falls.

Team RWBY, of course had many questions. So for much of the voyage, they asked questions as Ebon gave them a tour of the ship. They started with the engine room.

"Ebon," Weiss, who had recovered from her initial shock, began,"how did you get this ship?"

Ebon grinned to himself, Weiss was clearly still trying to fault the ship. Although he new that Weiss wouldn't like it, he sighed, and told the truth in a sad voice,"I…I killed to take control."

Weiss was about to speak, but Yang cut her off,"What do you mean?"

But Ebon would not respond.

The group reached the engine room, and upon entering Ruby grew even more excited.

"Are those..?" She asked in awe.

Ebon nodded,"Yep. Twin Blackfire Dust engines."

Weiss' ears perked up at the name of the engines,"How to you have those? Only my family's private vessels have them."

Ebon looked at her, amusement in his eyes, then said,"Would you like to guess?"

"You stole them?!"

"No, I found them in front of my door one morning. Of course I stole them!" he replied sarcastically.

Weiss glared at him, but he just shrugged, turned, and lead the group towards the dining hall.

They walked up a flight of stairs, and turned into the hall. Upon arriving, Ebon said,"And this will be where we eat dinner tonight."

The room was just a decorated as the rest of the ship, and was surprisingly clean. Amazing smells were coming from the neighboring kitchen, causing everyone's mouths to start watering instantly.

Ebon turned to Jason,"Is Jasper making… what is that… lamb?"

Jason's face became very confused,"Um... Sorry, but what's a lamb?"

Everyone, except for Ebon, who sighed, looked at Jason sharply.

"It is a baby sheep," Ebon told his first mate.

"Oh, right," Jason said sheepishly.

Ebon was quick to explain to his teammates,"Jason has a strange memory. To remember one thing, another has to go."

The girls continued to stare at Jason, who flushed slightly with embarrassment.

The next stop was the Arsenal. Ruby, of course, was in heaven when they got there. The walls were lined with weapons of all shapes and sizes, from guns to swords to explosives, most capable of changing shape.

Ebon was grinning broadly,"This is, of course, where we keep the weapons. I'll show a few if you like."

Ruby nodded enthusiastically and the others looked on in curiosity.

Ebon removed a plain looking longsword from the weapon rack, "This is a chain sword," he pressed a button, and small blades began circling the main one like a chain saw," No one has used it, mainly because it is so brutal, and is difficult to remove from a body."

The girls simultaneously shuddered from that thought.

He placed the sword back a grabbed a bow of the wall,"This is a Plasma Bow. As you might guess, it fires arrows made of fire, though it can use other types of dust."

As he placed the bow back Yang asked,"Where did you get these?"

"Most of them came from the White Fang actually. I attack them more then Schnee Dust. Most pirates attack the White Fang when they can. In a very real sense, pirates have been doing a better job of fighting those extremists then the Kingdoms have," Ebon said, as he grabbed another weapon.

"Ok, I have to admit, Ruby, this one I stole from your uncle. Granted, he left it on my ship, and hasn't asked for it back, but it was Qrow's nonetheless," he said, as he removed a foldable scythe from the rack.

Ruby stared at the scythe, and asked in an awed voice," Is that his original scythe?"

Ebon nodded,"Yep, and I also love keep forgetting to give it back to him.."

Ruby looked up sharply, and she and Yang stared at Ebon in astonishment.

"What, you mean you didn't know? Ruby, Yang, your uncle is drunk and a bit of a scoundrel. We get along rather well."

Now Weiss and Blake joined in the staring.

Ebon sighed, placing the scythe back on the weapon rack,"I'm his transport when we needs to get somewhere unnoticed. Ozpin doesn't know of course, but I've been helping him for years. Besides, I needed a way to keep an eye on you Ruby. Now then, I know you have more questions about this, but I'll answer them during lunch."

With that Ebon led them onwards to the next part of the ship.

Ebon proceeded to show off the sleeping quarters, the rec. room, and the cargo hold. Eventually, the group returned to the Captain's Quarters.

"So, how much longer until we get there?" Yang asked.

"About 10 minutes," he shrugged, then turned to Jason,"Can you tell Jasper to pack up the food?"

Jason nodded,"Sure thing Ebon."

"Do you ever give commands?" Weiss asked, after Jason had left.

"Very, very rarely. I tend to just ask," Ebon replied.

"Then why do they listen?"

Ebon smiled,"I'd be lying to myself if I said it was purely out of respect, but that does have a great deal to do with it. I can be very strict, and my punishments are brutal for a pirate."

"What are they?" Ruby asked in a concerned voice, her uncertainty about Ebon coming to the surface again.

Ebon shrugged," I deposit the offender at the nearest pirate stronghold."

"Oh, that doesn't sound so bad."

"It is for a pirate. Captains won't hire 'em, and the community at the stronghold won't let them get a job as anything but a bar hand. They lose access to a lot of the wealth that I pirate gains, and I'm very free with the shares I give. For a pirate, that's worse then death."

"Pirates have strongholds?" Blake asked, as the ship began to descend.

"Yep. I'll go into detail while we eat."

* * *

Several minutes later, the ship splashed down and tied to the crooked dock that led to a path that disappeared into a jungle.

Ebon sent his crew on ahead to set up, while he gave his team some instructions,"Don't wander. There are still Grimm on the island, and they are more dangerous then the Nevermore you four killed."

"How did you know about that? We never told you," Yang asked.

"Ozpin showed me the footage"

"Oh."

"How are they more dangerous?" Ruby asked.

"They rely on stealth. You can't see them until they want you to, and by then it's too late. They've learned to stay away from the path, but they still lurk in the jungle."

Weiss looked confused,"How did you manage to keep them from the path? You nearly lost to us earlier."

Ebon grinned,"Explosives, mines, that sort of thing. Grimm don't like getting blown to hell. And yes, I stole them."

Several minutes later, Ebon lead them down the gangplank and through the jungle. They were about half way through when they heard an explosion.

"What was that?" Ruby half yelled.

Ebon shrugged,"A young Grimm that didn't know about the traps."

It was a quarter of an hour later when they came to the Falls. The girls all gasped in awe as they looked upon them from a cliff top across from them. Ebon had been understating the wonder of the place. The Falls were a series of ten or so waterfalls that glistened and shimmered in reds, greens, blues, and even some colors that had no name. The water cascaded down cliffs of pure white stone and crashed into pools of crystal clear water below, which ran into rivers that vanished into the dense jungle.

They continued to stare at its beauty for some time, taking it in, while Ebon stood off to one side, grinning broadly.

"W-Wow!" Blake exalted, once she regained some of her composure.

The others nodded their heads dumbly in agreement. Then, Ebon spoke up,"Come on, you can continue to gawk once we sit down to eat."

They walked down in silence, as Ebon's team continued to stare at the Falls. When the reached that bottom, they found a ornate wood table setup with a feast lad out upon it, and Ebon's crew sitting at it, talking and waiting for Ebon.

Ebon led the rest of his team around to the head of the table, where he took his seat, and motioned for the girls to take the four right in front of him.

Once they sat down, Ebon stood, and slammed his fist on the table to get his crews attention.

"Ok, lads, I'd like you to meet my team. First we have the leader, Ruby Rose."

The crew nodded their acknowledgement to Ruby. Ebon then motioned at Weiss,"Then we have, believe it or not, Weiss Schnee."

His crew showed some surprise at a Schnee being amongst them, but gave their acknowledgement to her as well.

Ebon proceeded to motion at Blake,"Next we have Blake Belladonna."

The crew once again gave acknowledgement. Ebon's crew clearly hadn't the slightest idea of what to do in this situation.

Ebon moved his hand to motion towards Yang,"And this is Yang Xio Long."

Once again, the crew gave their acknowledgement. All of them were giving Ebon the same questioning look.

Ebon sighed,"Yes, I will be staying at Beacon for quite awhile. If you want be to find something for you to do at Beacon or at Vale, tell me, and I'll talk to Ozpin. I'm sure I can work something out. Now, enjoy yourselves, and, please, stop acting so damn formal."

He sat, and the group began to eat. A few minutes in, Team RWBY regained enough of their collective composure to begin asking questions.

"So, how do you know uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked, her mouth full of food.

Ebon smiled,"He looked me up, actually. He is effectively Ozpin's spy master, and he needed to poke around for some information. Pirates, thieves, and similar groups are probably the best information gathers on Remnant, so he wanted to ask around our capital. I only agreed because of his relation to you, Ruby. So I took him, and our friendship grew from there."

"Ok, what? Pirates have a capital, and our uncle has been there?" Yang asked incredulously.

"Yes and yes. In fact, Qrow is the only non-pirate currently welcome there. I hear the ladies at the brothels are fond of him."

The girls stared at him.

"What? They are!" Ebon said in mock exasperation.

The four huntresses rolled their eyes, and Ebon chuckled.

"You said you would go into detail about the stronghold," Blake said to Ebon a few months meets later.

"Ah, yes. I can't discuss much as it is supposed to be secret, but each major captain has an island that serves as their base of operations. That's about all I can say. Don't get me wrong, I trust you, but I take promises very seriously."

"Is that why-" Ruby began.

"Yes," Ebon said," that's why I came when Ozpin offered the chance."

"Isn't it odd for a pirate to keep a promise?" Blake asked.

Ebon nodded," Very, but, then, I'm not a normal pirate."

They continued to eat and talk for sometime after that, before returning to Beacon.

* * *

Ebon sat in his chair in the dorm that night with his eyes closed, thinking. For him, this was a new start. Even though he had only been here a few days, he was starting to think that it may be time to settle down, or, rather, stop traveling. He continued to ponder it as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: There you have it. A butt load of exposition... Sorta. Some things will play into the story later, others will not. Now, I should probably go get some of chapter 5 done before I get sidetracked again.**


	5. Class and Counsel

**A/N: Hi. Today I have the last sort of 'set up' chapter. The next few chapters will be canon events with Ebon. Then we get to the good parts. I'll admit, one of the only reasons I'm keeping with the episodes is so I can properly plan out Ebon's storyline and conflict. Also, I need a name for Ebon's antagonist, so suggestions would be great. Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

The next day, Ebon woke up and went into the bathroom to take a shower. When he got out, wearing his new uniform, he found the rest of his team awake and glaring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You," Yang began," woke us all up!"

"No he didn't," Ruby said, coming to Ebon's defense," his scroll did."

Ebon frowned at that and went over to his desk. Grabbing his scroll off it's charger and checking it, he found that he had several missed calls from Jason, and one text that read: 'get over here!'

Upon reading it his frown deepened. He turned to Weiss, who had started towards the bathroom,"How long until breakfast? An hour?"

"An hour and a half." She corrected, then continued into the bathroom.

"I'll meet you guys at breakfast then. Jason wants me at the Dragonfire for some reason."

With that, Ebon turned at left the room.

* * *

When Team RWBY got to breakfast, Ebon had not yet arrived, but they didn't have to wait long. A few minutes after their arrival, Ebon burst into the room, face like a storm cloud and mumbling to himself.

He made is way over to where his team sat and sat down himself, taking a deep breath in a attempt to calm himself.

"What's the matter, Ebon?" Ruby asked, concern written on her face.

Ebon didn't respond. He stared at the table, jaw locked, fists clenched around the edge of the table.

"Ebo-"

"Shut up, and leave me be!" He snapped. Then he shook his head as if trying to clear a fog, then said, in a quiet tone,"Sorry. I'll explain… later.. When I've calmed down."

After that, the girls let him be. Not because of his command, but because his eyes were glowing the red-orange of fire, and the table, where he had griped it, was beginning to smoke.

"Um.. Ebon?" Yang said, pointing at the table.

Ebon shot her a glare, but, seeing where she was pointing, looked down.

Upon noticing the table, Ebon let go with a,"for fucks sake," and slammed his head into the table.

He stayed like that for the rest of breakfast, head buried in his crossed arms, which rested in the table. Occasionally his team would here a grumble, but by the time it was time to leave, Ebon had recovered his composure enough to be able to at least marginally function.

* * *

Ebon remained silent the entire way to Professor Port's class, evidently brooding over that had driven him to anger.

"Welcome students!" Port said in his boisterous manner as his class settled in,"Today we have a new Huntsman in training, who was late by reason of personal matter. So please, welcome Mr. Ebon Nightshade to Beacon Academy!"

The class, with the exception of teams RWBY and JNPR, stared at Ebon in shock and whispered amongst themselves.

"Yeah, nice to meet you to," Ebon said, addressing the rest of the class seated behind him. They all instantly fell quiet.

"Oh, this will be fun," Ebon murmured to himself, seemingly recovered from his episode at breakfast. He was even smirking.

The professor let his class mull over the news of Ebon's presence for several moments, as he had always been one for drama. When he thought them to have sufficiently recovered there lost senses, he said," Now then Mr. Nightshade, it is time to see if a pirate can ever call themselves a true Huntsman. So go get you weapon, and get ready to fight one of the most ferocious Grimm I have ever caught!"

Ebon left to get changed, while the rest of the class sat through the story of the capture of the Grimm, which, by some divine act, was actually being concluded when the pirate returned.

"And that, students, is how I caught such a magnificent Death Claw." Port finished as Ebon walked in.

He had returned wearing his customary sword and gun belt, a cutlass at his hip, his sawn-off shotgun and large pistol across his chest. He wasn't, however, wearing his normal armor, with the exception of his gauntlet, which he never seemed to remove.

Instead, he was wearing an outfit that seemed to come from a movie. A black, knee length trench coat. A red vest over a white tunic, with the crisscrossed string just below the neck that typically adorns such a shirt. Instead of the baggy pants that are depicted in movies, he wore black jeans, though they seemed to be more flexible then jeans usually are. On his feet were midnight black combat boots that had evidently been modified to reduce sound and increase his ankle's flexibility. In all, he seemed to look like a pirate from old stories, just without a hat.

He made his way down to the floor of the lecture hall, were a cage containing the Jaguar-like Death Claw, which growled restlessly, staring at those around it in hunger.

"So Mr. Nightshade, are you ready?" Ebon's new teacher asked.

"Aye. That I am."

"Then begin," replied the professor, opening the cage, the retreating to a distance.

A moment later, the Grimm sprung out at incredible speed, it's jaws aimed for Ebon's throat. Ebon, however, did not sidestep, nor did he draw a weapon. He just raised his his right arm, and caught the beast's maw on his gauntlet.

It stood on it's hind legs, stunned by the failure of it's attack. The Grimm's claws dug into Ebon's arm, drawing blood. But he didn't pay notice, and he didn't waste time. Drawing his shotgun, he unloaded both rounds into the creature's exposed belly, causing it to release it's jaws with a yelp, and stumble back several feet, and stand up, the right side exposed to Ebon.

Ebon calmly dropped is empty shotgun, drew his pistol, and shot the monster with four fire rounds, two on each of the closest legs and at the joints, crippling it. He walked over to it's wreaked form, which lied taking gasping breaths on the classroom floor, bleeding heavily, and drew his sword with his free hand, and pinning the cat's neck down with his foot, stabbed through it's eye, ending the thing's life.

This all took place in but a couple of moments. So fast, that Ruby wasn't even able to get any encouraging words out before Ebon had dispatched the Grimm. The classroom stared at Ebon in amazement for several moments, before Port had recovered his composure enough to say," Bravo, bravo. We may make a Huntsman out of you next. I must ask however; Why did you deal with the Death Claw the way you did?"

Ebon grinned,"I've hunted them before. It doesn't take long before you pick up on your quarry's strategies, but then, you would know quite a bit about that, wouldn't you?"

Port, pleased at both student and compliment, replied,"I see. I thank you Mr. Nightshade."

Ebon resumed his seat in between Ruby and Yang.

"That was a amazing!" Ruby whispered to Ebon, in a voice that showed that she was struggling to suppress her voice.

"And very smooth with your compliment to the great winded one," Yang said.

"Thanks. Of what I know of school, making a teacher pleased with you early pay off, right?" Ebon asked back.

Yang grinned in response.

* * *

The rest of the day passed as expected; Ebon was introduced in each class, before sitting through a boring lecture, with the exception of history, where he listened intently. Despite having to struggle to stay awake, his team noticed a devious twinkle in his eye, and a self congratulatory smirk on his lips.

When team RWBY returned to their room, Ebon walked over to the desk, sat on it, let out a hardy laugh, then said,"So, shall I begin?"

His team made themselves comfortable around the room, and he begun,"First, some background. Pirates have a sort of capital on an island southwest of Atlas, as I had mentioned yesterday. It's an old military town. It's technically supposed to be a secret, but its existence is known by the kingdoms."

"Sounds horrible! How has it lasted so close to the military?" Weiss cut in.

Ebon shrugged,"Those who find it, are bribed, but, otherwise, because no one knows where it is, or at least, so we claim. In truth, all the Kingdoms know about it. I think the only leave us alone because of our attacks on the White Fang, and the lavish bribes we give to admirals in the assorted militaries. And when I say old, I mean from the founding of Atlas a few hundred years ago. The abandoned for some reason, and we moved in."

"Hmpf. I couldn't imagine a worse place to live."

"Oh yes, you could. It's called capital before me."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"Before I took over, the place was a mess. Random killings occurred all the time, but that wasn't the worse of it."

"What could be worse?" Weiss asked, in an insulting tone. She was still trying very hard to fault Ebon, though out of habit from her upbringing or actual hatred, he could not tell.

"Human Trafficking. Faunus especially. Every day ships with unfortunate souls would come, and they would be sold." He looked like was going to add something, but seemed to think better of it.

A gasp ran through his team, and Blake gripped the bedpost next to her tightly.

"Wait you said 'before I took over.' What do you mean?" Yang asked.

"I am King of Pirates after all. Did you really think that silly book just made up the title?"

"There's a book about you?!" Ruby shouted excitedly," Where?!"

"You can probably find it in book stores. It has to do with my recent years since I took power. You guys can read it, so I'll save my breath," he paused, then went on,"The first thing I did was to boot the traffickers off the island, then I banned general murder, but I gave up on trying to ban violence. Too many drunks, and too many who like to fight."

Blake's grip relax at that, then she asked,"What does that have to do with what happens today?"

"Some pirates on the counsel hate me, and my restrictions on the slave trade, amounts other things. So when they heard I had left for here, they began trying to bring the slavers back to the island. A friend in the counsel contacted me and told me. I was angry, but I told him I would think of something. As we were walking to Port's class, I began to come up with a solution. Then, while I was changing, I worked it out entirely."

"Yeah, about that, where did you get that outfit?" Yang asked.

"I usually wear it when at the counsel, 'cause I like how it looks. It is a classic after all. So, I decided it would be fun to wear it here."

"What is this 'counsel'?" Weiss asked.

"A group of the more powerful pirates. We rule over the capital and the other pirates, he replied, then waited a moment before saying,"Anyway, I sent him a message, I'll read it to you," he said, taking out a slightly larger that normal scroll, with a wave design on the back.

"What's that?" Ruby asked, forever intrigued by technology.

"It is, rather stupidly, called a Sea Scroll, because after about a month of trying to name the damn thing, its creator gave up, named it Sea Scroll, probably because he knew we would hate it, and then gave it to all of us. It uses transmitters and receivers on the seabed to transmit signals across Remnant. It's essentially a shadow CCT system."

A moment later, he found the relevant message and read:

 _I think I came up with a solution. Anyone who persists with their attempts is to have a bounty of five million lien put on their head, emphasis on head, and kicked of the island. Anyone who tries to remain is to be shot dead and their bodies are to be unceremoniously thrown into the harbor._

 _In addition, you are to act as regent in my absence. Do what you think I would._

 _-EN_

"That's horrible!" Weiss exclaimed.

"So is what they are trying to do. Pirate politic are crude, gruesome, and deadly. More so then I would prefer. But it does have advantages, especially in incidents like this," Ebon said sadly.

"You don't like it, do you?" Blake asked.

"Killing, you mean? No. I don't. No one deserves to die,"Ebon replied, his eyes going distant.

"Hmpf," Weiss scoffed,"then what would you do to killers and criminals? To those like you, that haven't weaseled there way out of it."

"I would prefer to give them second chances. Look at me. I've killed more than I can count, yet here I am in the center of a Kingdom, alone in a room with four teenage girls who barely know me. See what would be inherently wrong? Do you see that I'm walking proof that even the worst can change?!" Ebon said. His voice had been getting steadily more emotional, but when he reached the end, he shouted the words in a voice containing a profound sadness and anger.

A moment later he said,"Sorry. Didn't mean to lose control there."

"Is something wrong Ebon?" Ruby asked, concern written across her face.

Ebon let out a humorless laugh,"Yes. More than you can imagine. But, that is for me and me alone."

"You know we can help right?"

Ebon sighed, and as he spoke, it was without the youth that possessed,"Some things, Ruby, are meant to be buried, and left unmarked. Who I am, who I was, is one of them."

He looked at the clock then,"Come on, time for dinner."

With that, he left the room, not waiting for his team to process what he had said.

* * *

During dinner, Ebon ate in silence at first, but began to talk more as time passed. Other students stared at him shock, horror, fear, and awe during the entire meal. Eventually, it became late, and Team RWBY retired to their dorm.

As they were beginning to get into bed, Yang asked Ebon,"Why don't you remove that gauntlet? Even Ruby removes her cloak at night."

This incited a playful glare from Ruby.

Ebon, who sat in his chair, eyes closed, replied,"Because bad things would happen."

They tried to press him of course, but he said no more, instead swiveling around to face the wall.

* * *

Ebon awoke in the middle of the night. He sat in the dark for several moments, before hearing an alarming cry from Ruby. He swiveled back around and got up, making his way to the nightstand, which he then stepped up on. He was acutely aware of Yang's penetrating gaze that bore into the back of his neck.

Ruby shook violently, almost as if she were having a seizure. They only thing that betrayed that it wasn't, was the tormented look on her face. Ebon gently ran his fingers through her short hair to bring her out of her nightmare.

Ruby woke at the contacted, eyes shooting open. Even in the dim light that the moon outside provided, Ebon could see the fearful, sad look in the normally cheerful eyes. He continued to run his hands through her hair in a soothing fashion, and began to sing once more.

 _Come all you young sailormen, listen to me,_

 _I'll sing you a song of the fish in the sea;_

 _And it's..._

 _Windy weather, boys, stormy weather, boys,_

 _When the wind blows, we're all together, boys;_

 _Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow,_

 _Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes._

 _Up jumps the eel with his slippery tail,_

 _Climbs up aloft and reefs the topsail;_

 _And it's..._

 _Windy weather, boys, stormy weather, boys,_

 _When the wind blows, we're all together, boys;_

 _Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow,_

 _Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes._

 _Then up jumps the shark with his nine rows of teeth,_

 _Saying, "You eat the dough, boys, and I'll eat the beef!"_

 _And it's..._

 _Windy weather, boys, stormy weather, boys,_

 _When the wind blows, we're all together, boys;_

 _Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow,_

 _Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes._

 _Up jumps the lobster with his heavy claws,_

 _Bites the main boom right off by the jaws!_

 _And it's..._

 _Windy weather, boys, stormy weather, boys,_

 _When the wind blows, we're all together, boys;_

 _Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow,_

 _Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes._

 _Up jumps the halibut, lies flat on the deck,_

 _He says, "Mister Captain, don't step on my neck!"_

 _And it's..._

 _Windy weather, boys, stormy weather, boys,_

 _When the wind blows, we're all together, boys;_

 _Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow,_

 _Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes._

 _Up jumps the herring, the king of the sea,_

 _Saying, "All other fishes, now you follow me!"_

 _And it's..._

 _Windy weather, boys, stormy weather, boys,_

 _When the wind blows, we're all together, boys;_

 _Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow,_

 _Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes._

 _Up jumps the codfish with his chucklehead,_

 _He runs out up forward and throws out the lead!_

 _And it's..._

 _Windy weather, boys, stormy weather, boys,_

 _When the wind blows, we're all together, boys;_

 _Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow,_

 _Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes._

 _Up jumps the whale, the largest of all,_

 _"If you want any wind, well, I'll blow ye a squall!"_

 _And it's..._

 _Windy weather, boys, stormy weather, boys,_

 _When the wind blows, we're all together, boys;_

 _Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow,_

 _Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes._

 _Windy weather, boys, stormy weather, boys,_

 _When the wind blows, we're all together, boys;_

 _Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow,_

 _Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes._

As he sung, Ruby found herself drifting asleep, as a ship on the waves, and began to dream of the strange old ship, with the strange old fish, that Ebon sung of.

When he was certain that she had fallen asleep, he hopped of the nightstand, and walked back to his chair. As he sat down he heard Yang whisper,"Thank you," to which he nodded his reply.

And thus Ebon drifted into his own dreams, even if they did not bring the wonder or joy of the old ship and her fish.

* * *

 **A/N: And there you go. Quick question: How subtle are my hints about Ebon's past and personal problems? I don't think I'm being very subtle, though I'm giving it my best. Anyway, next chapter is basically Juanedice. So... yeah, that's all for now. I'll be back soonish.**


	6. King's Fall

**A/N: Holy shit! I'm back! No exuces, I'm a lazy shit. That said, all of you, followers, guests, whatever, pm me, or just leave reviews demanding the next chapter. It reminds me that actual people want this thing, and my other story. This chapter begins the differences between RWBY and my story. Or at least the widening. Also, I reference it here, but I skipped Juanedice. I hate those episodes. If you want an Ebon floors Cardin scene ask, and I'll write it, but otherwise, there won't be one. Anyone who is annoyed: bite me. Sorry if this seems rushed (the a/n not Chapter) I'm posting this while in school. That said, enjoy.**

 **I don't own RWBY! (sadly)**

* * *

"So," Ebon said in an annoyed tone," remind me why we are here again?"

"I don't know. Maybe th-," Ruby started.

"Don't. I'm not in the mood for jokes right now."

Ruby looked a little crestfallen at that.

"Aww, what wrong capt'n? You on your period?" Yang said in a mocking voice.

Ebon gave her a look that could have saved Juane a lot of trouble with that Ursa a few weeks ago.

"Wait, do boys get-," Ruby started earnestly.

"No, we don't," he said, the sighed," Sorry, but a man can only take so many hateful looks before he snaps. Weiss, again, why are we wasting a Friday?"

"Come on! How couldn't you enjoy this? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" the white haired girl replied.

"I really do question your sense of fun, sometimes," he said.

"He's right. You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring," Yang said with a sigh.

They had been walking through Vale for an hour now, and a majority of the people they passed gave Ebon hateful glares and sneers. But now they finally made it to the docks.

"As representatives of Beacon, it is our duty to welcome students from Vacuo to this fine kingdom."

"Of which you aren't a citizen?" Ebon asks, grinning.

"Pff.. She just wants to spy on the competion," Blake added.

Ebon looked around, still grinning, but what he saw made his grin fade,"Guys-"

"We are girls," Yang said, with, almost, a straight face.

"Shut up. Look," Ebon pointed down a street that led back into the city.

There, at the end of the street, a crime scene surrounded a dust shop, with a shattered window. They group made their way over.

When they made it to the crime tape, Ruby asked two detectives at the scene,"What happened here?"

When they saw the group, specifically Ebon, the detectives, perhaps unconsciously placed their hands on their guns, and one said," Robbery. Second Dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle."

"That's terrible," Yang said.

The detective had yet to remove their hands, so Ebon raised his,"I assure you I'm not here to make trouble. I'm a students Beacon now."

The detectives reluctantly put their hands down, then the one who hadn't yet spoke turned to the other,"They left all the money again."

"Huh?!" Ebon and Ruby said in near unison.

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?" the first said, shaking his head.

"I don't know, an army?" replied the second.

The first replied,"You thinking the White Fang?"

"I think we don't get paid enough," said the other.

Ebon shook his head,"No, more like the White Fangs supplier. If it was the White Fang, they'd probably take the money. They need food after all. A supplier on the other hand…"

"Would make more on the sale than the robbery. Well done kid, though I guess you'd know. Still, we don't get paid enough for anything like this," the second detective said, and the two walked back into the store.

"Hmph! The White Fang," Weiss said in a lofty tone,"What an awful bunch of degenerates!"

"What's Iyour/I problem?" Blake said.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane," Weiss said in mild anger.

"They are far from insane, Weiss. They're an incredibly effective terrorist cell," Ebon said coolly.

"That are a collection of misguided Faunus," Blake added.

"That want to wipe Humanity of the planet!" Weiss snapped back.

"So their very misguided! And regardless of what Ebon said, it doesn't explain why the White Fang would need so much dust," Blake replied.

"Hmm... Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago... Maybe it was him," Ruby pointed out.

Ebon laughed mirthlessly,"If the VPD can't catch a shitty half-baked crime boss like Torchwick, then we are all screwed."

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal," Weiss said, much to Blake's anger.

Yet it was Ebon who spoke, his voice cold and eyes hard, "Weiss, because you're a friend, I'll only warn you: Shut the fuck up. Accuse me if you want a liar, cheater, and thief. But not an entire group of people. To do so only make you look the fool."

And then a well, or perhaps poorly, timed cry came from the docks," Hey, stop that Faunus!"

Ruby had been looking at Ebon with a strange intensity, with an odd feeling in her stomach she couldn't quite explain, but the shout drew her attention away. Team RWBY rush over to see what caused the alarm. They saw a Faunus with a monkey tail running down a length of a freighter before leaping onto a guard rail as two pursing sailors nearly catch him.

"Thanks for the ride, guys! Haha!" the Faunus said to the sailors as he leapt from the boat and hit the dock running.

He ran down the dock and cured his tail around a light post, hanging from it as one of the sailors called," You no-good stowaway!"

The Faunus peeled a banana he'd produced from a pocket as he said, "Hey! A no-good stowaway would've been caught! I'm a great stowaway!"

Team RWBY had seen the detectives walking over, but the boy seemed surprised by the rock he had to dodge.

"Hey! Get down from there this instant!" one called. The stowaway replied by throwing the banana's peel on the detective face before twisting up onto the post and jumping off, running up the dock and onto land with the detectives in half-hearted pursuit. As he ran past he Blake he winks, to her confusion.

"Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes...," Yang said as the Faunus got further and further away.

Weiss pointed upwards, "Quick! We have to observe him!"

Ruby, Yang, and Weiss begin running, and Ebon started after tapping Blake on her shoulder to get her back to reality. As they turn the corner, Weiss runs into someone, falling on top of the person, and forcing the group to stop.

"No, he got away!" Weiss wined, looking up.

"Umm… Weiss…," Ebon said, pointing at the girl Weiss had tackled.

Weiss followed Ebon's point and realized she was on top of a smiling girl.

"Sal-u-ta-tions!" The girl exclaimed as Weiss hastily got to her feet.

"Um.. hello," Ruby replied tentatively.

"Are… you ok?" Yang asked.

"I'm wonderful, thank you for asking," the strangle girl replied cheerily.

The girls looked at each other, mildly confused by the odd young lady, while Ebon simply cocked an eyebrow.

"Do you wanna get up?" Yang asked.

The girl seemed to actually consider it,"Yes!"

The girl hopped to her feet,"My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Penny had orange hair that fell to her chin with a bow and green eyes. She wore a old style blouse and female overalls, with a black and green stockings and collar.

"Hi Penny, I'm Ruby."

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit you head head?" Yang asked, earning her a jab from Blake,"Oh, I'm Yang."

"Ebon," the pirate replied.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"You already said that," Weiss said.

Once again Penny paused to consider the statement,"So I did!"

"Well, err.. sorry for running into you," Weiss apologized, before she and the other turned and left.

"Take care friend!" Ruby said over her shoulder.

When they were out of earshot Yang said,"She was… weird…"

"Now where did that Faunus riffraff go off to…," Weiss asked.

Ebon smacked the back of her head, but before he could reprimand her, Penny popped in front of them.

"What did you call me?" He asked, as everyone took a surprised step back, and Ebon reached for a sword he didn't have by instinct.

Yang looked apologetic," Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!"

"No, not you," the girl said, walking over to Ruby," You!"

A very startled Ruby stammered," Me? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh..."

"You called me 'friend'! Am I really your friend?"

"Ummm...", she looks to her teammates who motion for her to deny Penny, except for Ebon, who shrugged, "Y-Yeah, sure! Why not?"

Penny, joyous in having made a friend exclaimed, "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"

Ruby let out a small groan and said to Weiss," Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?"

""No - she seems far more coordinated," the heiress replied.

Ebon looked between the two of them," There's a story I'm missing here…"

"I'm sure they'll fill you in later," Yang said, the turned back to Penny, ""So... what are you doing in Vale?"

"She could just live here, Yang. Or do you know everybody in Vale?" the pirate quipped.

"I don't live here. I'm here to fight in the tournament," Penny replied.

"Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?" Wiess said, slightly surprised.

"I'm combat ready!" the orange haired girl said, saluting.

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."

"Says the girl wearing a dress," Blake said.

"It's a combat skirt!" Weiss shot back, arms crossed.

"Yeah!" Ruby said, coming to Weiss' side. Weiss held out her hand and they low-fived.

Ruby glanced over her team and stopped on Ebon. He was smiling fondly and had an odd twinkle in his eyes that made Ruby blush.

"Wait a minute," Weiss said to Penny, as an idea hit her," If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed... rapscallion?"

"The who...?" the girl replied.

Weiss held up a crude drawing of the Faunus," The filthy Faunus from the boat!"

"Why do you keep saying that?!" Blake exclaimed.

"When did you draw that?" Ebon asked.

Weiss turned away from Penny," Huh?"

Both blinked, then Ebon asked," Wait, which one of us?"

"Her!" Weiss said, pointing at Blake.

"Oh."

"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!" Blake barked.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Weiss said, motioning to the objects around her," Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?"

"Stop it!"

Trying to stop them, Ebon said, "Girls please, for the love o-"

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!" Weiss said, not listening or paying attention to Ebon.

"You ignorant little brat!" Blake growled back, stalking off.

An offended Weiss followed, "How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"

"You are a judgmental little girl."

"What in the world makes you say that?"

"The mere fact that you would sort that Faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!"

Yang sidled up to Ruby,"Um, I think we should probably go..."

"Good idea," Ebon said, shaking his head as a disapproving father might.

Penny popped up behind Ruby," Where are we going?"

"So you admit it! The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists!" Weiss shouted at Blake.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

* * *

The argument continued all the way back to the dorm and into the night, with Yang and Ruby still watching. Ebon had ducked into the bathroom a moment prior.

From inside, he could still hear the argument raging onwards and Weiss saying," I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!"

"That is the problem!" Blake responded heatedly.

Ebon began to go.

"You realize you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

Ebon zipped up his pants and buckled his belt.

"There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"

Ebon flushed the toilet.

"People like me?"

"You're discriminatory!"

Ebon began to wash his hands in the sink.

"I'm a victim! You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus? It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood."

"Weiss, I-" Ruby started, presumably to comfort Weiss, but she was cut off.

"No! You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

Ebon turned on the sink and went to pick up the towel from the countertop. This entire thing was stupid to him, but he supposed the two would have to tire themselves out.

"Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Blake shouted.

Ebon's hand froze just as it grabbed the towel, and he said quietly to himself, "Oh shit…"

The silence outside the door was all consuming.

"I… I…" Blake stammered, then he heard footsteps.

"Blake, wait! Come back!" Ruby called after Blake.

Ebon tried to get out of the bathroom in time but Blake was already out the door. He turned an angry gaze to Weiss," What the fuck is wrong with you!"

Weiss was taken aback," Excuse me!?"

"You heard me girl! Why? Why did you have to keep pushing?! Why could you not concede even a single point!?" Ebon's eyes flashed through his semblance. Lightning crackled around him. Heat emanated from him. The water on his still wet hands froze. He slowly advanced on Weiss.

"Surely you heard me in the bathroom!" Weiss said, an apprehensive look on her face, as well as Ruby's and Yang's. This was not the Ebon they knew.

Ebon let loose a humorless and intimidating laugh, "Oh! Ohohoh! You think that's a rough childhood!? Ha! That's nothing! I watched as my parents were slaughtered. I was a slave for years, and then I went insane. I drenched the ocean in blood. You want to call your childhood bad because your father is an angry piece of shit! Please!"

"I doubt that you went-, "Weiss began, but was cut off by a slap from Ebon. A hard slap that sent her sprawling. The heat rose, and the carpet began to frost over. The lightning increased in frequency.

"How dare yo-"

"Shut up! Shut your damn mouth! Or must I sear it shut!?" he barked, then went very still.

Ebon let out a series of struggling sounds and shook slightly. Slowly, very slowly, the lightning and heat stopped, and the ice melted.

"S-Sorry. I should go," he said, backing away and grabbing his coat.

"But, wait, Ebon!" Ruby said.

"I'm sorry. I-I need to cool off. I'll be back tomorrow… probably," and with that he rushed out of the room.

* * *

The evening was cool. It had been two days since Ebon and Blake disappeared, and Ruby was feeling down. Blake's absence was bad enough but the hole left in her by Ebon's felt like it was eating her alive. She didn't fully know why, but the weeks following the Ursa incident she caught herself staring at Ebon more and more. She had an idea, of course, but she wasn't certain.

Ruby felt a chill go down her back. The memory of the run in with that Ursa in the Forever Fall Forest still scares her. Of course, Ebon stopped it before it could clamp its jaws around her neck, but she knew she came close to dying.

" _Don't let your guard down out here Ruby! Many Grimm are about."_

It's what he said after catching his sword in its mouth. It was younger and smaller than the one Jaune had fought just a moment prior. Ebon had ended it quickly after that, firing his short barrel shotgun into an eye socket, destroying the Grimm's brain.

Ruby shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She had to find Blake for now. She knew Ebon could return easily enough. He took his ship after all. She glanced at the strange, orange-haired girl next to her. At least she wasn't alone for this task.

* * *

Things were most definitely not going well for Ebon Nightshade. His fleeing and near loss of control was going to raise questions, but he'd rather face those than his current predicament: complete engine failure.

The engines were by no means old. Stolen and high volatile yes, but capable of breaking down they were not. No, it was the damage they had suffered over the last day that caused it.

Ebon had left Vale with the intent of traveling to international airspace to relax for awhile and calm his fury. He'd spent the night uncomfortable, regretting for the first time in a long while not having a bed.

He hadn't fallen asleep for a long time that night. It was thoughts of Ruby that finally cooled his temper. He knew full well that he was falling in love, and how dangerous that was. Especially with his recent discovery.

Upon waking up, groggy, sleep deprived, and grumpy, he decided to cruise for a time to try and cheer himself up. That's when they found it.

They had been crushing for a couple hours on Saturday and was beginning to approach Vale's border when Jason noticed something on the radar.

"Capt'n, you seeing this?" he asked concerned.

Ebon looked at the radar and frowned. There was a couple dozen blips in close proximity to eachother a good 500 meters to starboard. He turned ship to take a closer look, moving slowly and high up to avoid detection.

As the approach the number of blips increased. First there was twice as many. Then 100. Then 200 hundred. It finally capped at 350 blips, and Ebon could now see them all. Ships from simple bullheads to full man'o wars. Aircraft carriers, battleships. It was s full armada, and more were clearly being built.

But what shocked him the most was the flags. Black with a red wolf head and claw marks. The White Fang had an armada. And were in striking distance of Vale.

Alarms started blaring. They were being targeted. Impossible. He's slipped past Atlas fleets without detection, so how could he be seen now?

His question was answered when a hundred meters to the starboard stern of the Dragonfire, a ship appeared from no where. Ebon blasted the engines at their max, and turned hard to port in a desperate maneuver to escape. The Phantom was not a ship to trifle with.

Similar in size and structure to a Altasian battle ship, it was a stolen stealth fighter, capable of full camouflage and possessing extremely powerful weapons. The Dragonfire, on the other hand, had moderately strong broadsides, and a lot of them. That's what made him so dangerous, and let him capture ships. Large amounts of damage over a wide area meant the ships wouldn't be obliterated, but could be boarded and robbed. But the Phantom was designed to destroy.

A gruff, hard voice echoed over Ebon's coms, "Well, well. If it isn't the 'king'!"

The Phantom turned to port and flew parallel to the Dragonfire.

"Battle-stations lads! And fire as soon as ready!" Ebon barked to his men.

Within a minute the broadsides to port fired in a scattered array. Most hit their mark, but they barely scratched it.

"Shit!" Ebon cursed. What followed was a series of complex maneuvers to escape to Vale waters.

The Phantom was suddenly in front of the Dragonfire, broadsides ready.

"Oh for fu-" the rest of Ebon's words were lost under the sound of this bow being shredded. Ebon retaliated with his underhull cannons, his only heavy artillery.

The hanging blasters fired beams of condensed energy, but costs him some of the Blackfire dust he uses for fuel. They damaged the Phantom, but not as substantially as he'd of liked. Ebon knew he was in for a long fight at that point.

It took 12 hours before his engines gave out. Once that happened the Phantom faded away. Ebon hoped for good. He began the slow process of gliding the ship to reasonable safety. He knew he'd crash, but he'd prefer to not die in the process.

He kept his damaged bow high, and slowly lost altitude. He couldn't land in the water, or he'll sink a mere minutes. He tried desperately to contact control towers in Vale, but it quickly became apparent that his communications had been knocked out. He wasn't't yet in range for scroll service either.

For hours upon hours, he stood there, slowly descending from several thousand feet. Night fell, and Cale came into view, and he saw an explosion from the warehouses from his high perch, but he paid it no mind. He was almost in range.

* * *

Ruby and her team sat together at the warehouses that had been a battle ground just prior. All in all, things went quite well for team RWBY. They had found Blake, stopped a terrorist plot, and Weiss forgave Blake. Now Ruby hoped Ebon would return soon.

Her scroll buzzed. She took it out, surprised to see Ebon calling. She answered cheerily,"Hello! Whe-"

"No time! I'm going down! I-I think I can put her down just outside Beacon. Dumped all the fuel I could, but the pipe got clogged. I don't think I'll go up, but if I do, Beacon will be practically leveled. Get everyone out, now!" Ebon shouted over the shaking and mechanical hum his dying ship, then hung up.

Ruby sat there stunned for a moment.

"Who was it?" Yang asked.

She was answered with rose petals where Ruby had been sitting. She glanced around and saw her running in a blur to Ozpin.

When Ruby reached him, she quickly explained the situation, to which the old headmaster replied, "Then we best move quickly."

* * *

Ebon was thankful when he saw he was above the cliffs that Beacon sat atop. A bullhead came up along sides. After a moment is scroll buzzed with a call from Ruby.

"Jason!" He said to his first mate.

Jason answered and held it on speaker for Ebon. Ozpin was on the other side," We are going to get ahead if you. Glynda will help cushion your landing."

"Got it!" Ebon said, Turing slightly to line up.

"Good luck," the calm professor said, then hung up.

"He could have at least kept contact," Ebon muttered.

He didn't know why Ozpin was calling with Ruby's phone in a bullhead coming from Vale, but he had more important things to care about.

He tilted down, coming in for what could be his final decent.

"Everyone!" he said to his local mic," get to stern. The bow is gonna hit hardest!"

He hoped and prayed for himself and his crew, and hit the earth hard, slamming his head into his desk, and blacking out.

He awoke to Jason tending him, and the smell of smoke. He groaned and got up quickly, but fell again with a sharp pain. His leg was broken.

"Hold still," Jason said, as his semblance healed his Captain within a few moments.

"Thank you my friend," Ebon said, as he stood once more.

Ebon rushed out of his cabin, Jason close on his heels. They moved through the halls, small fires here and there, and to an exit door, normally used for boarding other ships. Ebon tried it, but it was jammed. Taking a risk,Ebon focused his aura and froze the door over, before flinging a blast of flame at it, hoping the heat exchange would shatter the door. It didn't.

"It's not made of glass, Ebon…," he muttered to himself.

This time he let loose of blast of white hot flame, melting through the door. It took him a moment to stop the flame even after the door was gone. In fact, it took longer than usual. He glanced at his gauntlet and saw a crack running its center.

He cursed at this, then hopped out. His men were scrambling out of other openings wherever they could. They were motioning for him to get away from this ship. It took I'm just a moment too long my to realize the kitchen was right behind him. The explosion of the stoves similar sick instruments took him off his feet and slammed him and Jason to the ground. He saw Ruby running to him as consciousness faded, and darkness claimed him.

* * *

 **A/N: I know, Cliffhanger. Calm down. I'm writing this one before the next Shattered Souls (sorry that guest who left the review on that story). Anyway, review. It helps me learn. Also helps me focus, as I said.**


	7. Revelations and Plan Making

**A/N: Surprise!**

* * *

When Ebon woke up, he was greeted by the stark white of a hospital room. The memories of his crash landing rushed in quickly, and he knew he'd once again cheated death. The room itself was fairly standard: a window to his left, door to the lower right, and Ruby asleep over his legs…

Ebon smiled at this, though the reason why was unclear. Amusement? Appreciation at the caring gesture? Or was it…?

Ruby stirred, and woke up. She looked around sleepily for a moment, before realizing that Ebon had woken up.

She, from a sitting position, spring herself at Ebon, wrapping her arms around his neck. Ebon winced at the pain, but he allowed the hug to go on regardless. He returned the gesture.

Ruby was sobbing, tears of relief streaming down her face," I-I'm so glad your okay!"

Ebon tightened his hug, running a hand through her hair in the way that calmed her at night. She was close enough to him that he could smell her. She smelt sweet like… roses.

'Duh, what else?' he thought.

"It's alright. I'm still here. I'm currently hurting all over, but I'm still kicking," he said humorously.

Ruby giggled, the sound music to Ebon's ears, which were one of the few parts of his body not aching. His right arm was the most painful.

He looked at his arm as Ruby finally, and reluctantly broke the contact. His gauntlet was gone. Which wasn't surprising, he was in a hospital, but it was still an issue.

Ignoring it for the time being, he looked at Ruby once again. Damn, she was cute. It was a fact that had occurred to him in several occasions and he usually ignored it, but for some reason, he was paying more attention to it now. He had a feeling it had to do with his latest near death experience.

Again, shaking the feeling off, he asked," What about Yang and Weiss? And did you find Blake?"

Ruby nodded," Mhmm! We even agreed that they'd be no more secrets."

Ebon blinked," Oh…"

"That means yours too!"

Ebon felt the world closing in on him. He knew what secret the girls expected: his past. It wasn't that he was afraid the girls would shun him. He simply didn't want to think about it himself. Somethings are meant to stay buried.

"U-umm…" Ebon stared in an uncharacteristic display of nervousness," I'd prefer not to…"

Ruby looked at him questioningly, and he forged ahead quickly, "Its not that I don't trust you all. It's that I- I don't want to remember that. Few things I fear, and my past is one of them."

"You're scared of yourself?" Ruby asked in a joking tone, but here joy fell when Ebon hung his head.

"No. I'm afraid of what happened to me. You have PTSD from the loss of your mother… I have it from a fate far worse, as pretentious as that sounds. I- I don't want to relive it."

"But-"

"It's the reason I sleep so lightly Ruby! It's the reason I killed! Please don't make me recount it!" His voice was pleading, and, for the first time in a long time, tears were building in his eyes. He knew then just how much he'd grown attached to Ruby, and how much he trusted her to show weakness for the first time in years.

It was Ruby's turn to comfort Ebon. She wrapped her arms around him again and squeezed tightly, "I-Its ok. I- We won't make you tell us something that will hurt you."

Ebon sniffed, and with effort, regained his composure. When Ruby pulled away, he frowned slightly, and quickly glanced at the IV that he was hooked up to. The fluid was silver tinted.

He let his frown to be replaced by a genuinely grateful smile," Thank you."

Ebon cleared his throat,"So, when do I get out of here?"

"The doctor said you'd be free to go a few days after you woke up," Ruby replied with a smile.

Ebon scrunched his nose," Gah! That's annoying. How long was I out anyway?"

"About a week. You've been in and out of surgery."

"Figures. Jason alright?"

Ruby nodded,"He's in the next room."

"No I'm not!" A voice from outside the door shouted.

Ebon burst out laughing," My friend, your not supposed to give yourself away when you spy on someone."

Jason opened the door and came in looking a little sheepish and caring a bundle of clothes," Sorry. Forgot."

Ebon grinned at him," It's from fine. Would you mind?"

Jason nodded and walked over, placing his hand on Ebon's arm. Both men glowed slightly for a couple moments, then Jason let go. Ebon sat up fully and removed the medical equipment," Ruby, I'll meet you back in the dorm. I want to go look at the wreckage of my ship. Speaking of which, Jason, how many did we lose?"

"4, sir," the cowboy pirate replied.

"Oh, that's surprising good. Glynda's work then?"

Jason nodded, while Ruby shook her head," But the doctor-"

Ebon waved away Ruby's concern," Jason is the medic for reason."

With that he stood, only to be met by a doctor who had walked in.

"Get back into bed, you still need to recover, both of you," the man said.

Ebon chuckled, and within moments was dressed not in a hospital gown but his trench coat and vest. Jason was dressed a moment later, wearing a vest with a rolled up trench coat and a Stetson.

The doctor just stared at the pair, who had moved far too quickly for people who were recovering from several large surgeries, especially the red-eyed boy. Even Ruby was surprised. Ebon hadn't moved even half of that speed during his initiation. Though it was far below her own speed, it was still impressive.

The two began to walk out, Ruby trailing behind, all ignoring the stunned doctor.

* * *

Sometime later they stood at the mangled wreak of the Dragonfire. It had been surrounded by cleanup crews, but they were apparently told to let them through.

The ship was destroyed. The explosion that had erupted had destroyed much of the ship. His armory was in shambles, though he did manage to recover Qrow's first scythe. Otherwise, only the engines remained mostly intact. Had those exploded there wouldn't have been a Beacon Academy. Thankfully their cases were heat resistant.

After leaving Jason to check on the surviving crew, Ebon and Ruby returned to the dorm. Ebon immediately walked to his desk where he had left his pirate Scroll and began writing a message. When he find he'd he closed the device and fell back into his chair, only to let out a small yelp as he landed on something.

Standing up, he saw his gauntlet, repaired and ready to be worn. Next to it was a note that read 'Interesting Device.' Ebon knew Ozpin had left it. Crumpling up and throwing away the note, Ebon went to put on the gauntlet, but paused. He knew a secret would have to come out if he puts it on. Ruby was watching him.

He let out a sigh, and not bothering to whisper, said," Rouse the others. I'll give you one secret. I can't hide this one anymore anyway."

Ruby did so, and soon a groggy team RWBY were sitting up in their beds.

"Welcome back!" Yang said dryly while rubbing her eyes.

"Oh, thanks. Missed you too," Ebon replied sarcastically.

"What's this about Ebon?" Weiss asked sharply. She did not like getting woken up.

Ebon faced her, and in an unusual display of deference, bowed," Sorry for my rant. That was out of line."

Weiss frowned," I was as well. I hope that's not why you woke us."

"No, it's not. You said no secrets. Well, as Ruby can explain, I'll be hanging onto mine awhile longer. But I will share one."

He lifted his gauntlet, and showed the inside. A needle stuck out. Before anyone could comment, he flipped a switch and removed a large vial of a silvery liquid from the top.

Weiss recognized it first," That's silver dust! Your injecting yourself with an aura suppressant?! Why?"

The others blinked. No one had ever heard of someone limiting their abilities before with Dust.

Ebon nodded," It is. The sole reason I wear this thing is to make sure I don't kill anyone by accident. Or myself for that matter."

The others were now fully awake. This was strange indeed.

"What do you mean?" asked Blake.

"Remember how I ran that one time? I was too angry, at myself, mind you, for me to be able to control my semblance. Damn thing is chaotic. It responds to emotion. That's why I was…subdued when I first arrived. I'd sorta turned off emotion. I had compassion sure enough, but much else was beyond me. If I'd let myself stay, it could have been dangerous. I left a couple scorch marks up there. Even with the dust, it's dangerous. Without it, a stray thought could level a forest or freeze over a lake."

"Okay... but it's really rare, how do you get enough?" Weiss asked.

"Now that's a secret I'll keep. Oh, and I assume you want to know what happened a week ago, so the short of is that an old enemy shot me down. The rest will be for Ozpin's ears only. It's not that I don't trust you, but if you knew, the mess it would cause would be difficult to clean up."

"What's that mean?" Yang asked mockingly.

"You are all so righteous and heroic, it's almost unbearable," Ebon said jokingly," but that would cause trouble. If you tried to help, it would be like a ripple hitting a stone. Nothing would happen, and you'd all die."

The girls were silent for a moment. Just who was this enemy, and how could one person be so dangerous?

"Now, if you excuse me, I need to sleep."

With that, Ebon hit the lights, got into his chair, and closed his eyes. This girls followed suit, climbing into bed and falling asleep, chests rising and falling evenly.

* * *

An hour later, Ebon crept out of the room and across campus to the tower. A few minutes later, he was sitting across from Ozpin.

"I already know about what you saw," Ozpin said, not a hint if exhaustion in the man.

"Then you know something must be done. A fleet like that has to be destroyed," Ebon replied.

"We couldn't find any trace of it. I don't doubt your claim, but the council won't mobilize the military unless we find something concrete."

"Besides my crashed ship?"

"They think it was your own fault. As far as they are concerned, Fyre is only a legend."

"Yet you and I both know better. He immortal, not indestructible!"

"With the Phantom, he might as well be, Ebon. I've been around long enough to know when a legend is true, but the politicians in the city are mostly young. They have yet to learn the way of the world."

Ebon sighed. So much for eliminating a threat before it became one.

"But then," Ozpin carried on," that isn't stopping you, is it?"

Sbin looked at the man," Of course not. In fact, is like to use the base of the cliffs as a place to build a new ship."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow," Oh? Who are you going to find to build you a ship?"

"I've got a friend. He'll be here in a few weeks."

"Ah, a friend from Libertalia, then?" Ozpin asked.

Ebon looked a bit deflated," You know about it?"

"I do. But few others. I don't know it's location. It's a clever ploy with the fake council in that old base."

"You know that too- oh, god damn it Qrow," Ebon said as realization struck.

"Did you really think he'd keep that a secret? He did keep its location fro me. I think he intends to hit there if I ever get mad at him."

Ebon laughed," Yeah, that sounds like him. Alright, you good with my plan?"

Ozpin shrugged," What plan?"

Ebon smirked," Really, that's the first line that can to mind? We keeping this under raps then?"

Ozpin only nodded," Good night, Mr. Nightshade."

"You too professor."

* * *

 **A/N: And there it is. A few questions answered, more made. Things have been set into motion. Review. Please. It'll help me.**


	8. A Date with the Mechanic

**A/N: I know, I know. My summer hw was brutal. Anyway, you get a lot in this chapter. Several plot threads begin to become visable and others finally start.**

* * *

Several weeks has passed since Ebon was shot down. He was still pissed about that, but he knew there was nothing to be done now. There had been a memorial for the crew who died, then the remaining crew entered service as guards, though they remained loyal to Ebon.

Ebon himself had rededicated himself to his studies. His ability to fight people with actual skill had increased significantly, although it quickly became apparent that something would have to done about his aura problem. So far his attempt at control left a crater in the Emerald Forest.

He also sent word to pirate counsel of the Phantom's reappearance. Most were concerned, and others ignored it entirely. Ebon was beginning to think he'd have to return to beat some sense into his subordinates.

Regardless, he was eagerly awaiting his engineer's arrival. Well, he wasn't so much his as he was employed by the mafia, but he'd rented his services, and as long as the mafia gets it money, they don't care. Not that they could retaliate against the pirates. When he arrived, he could begin a new ship. One to take on the Phantom and not crash.

He was sketching out his ideas for said ship, drowning out the noise at his table in the cafeteria, until Ruby dropped the biggest binder he'd ever seen in front of him and the rest of the team.

Clearing her throat, the red head called out," Sisters... friends... Weiss."

Weiss responded with an indignant,"Hey!"

"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."

Yang muttered as she ate a berry,"This ought to be good"

Ebon, however, put down his pencil and looked at Ruby expectantly, his full attention occupied. To him, the rest of the world didn't exist. Until he realized that had happened and was not good for one of most hated men in the world to do, even if he was pardoned in one kingdom. He had to admit, he never expected this to happen. He continued to give Ruby his attention, just not to the point where Remnant ceases to be.

"A dream that one day, the four of us will come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had... ever!"

"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss asked.

Ruby made peace signs with both hands,"I am not a crook."

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.

"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!"

"I always kick my semesters off with a Yang! Eh? Guys? Am I right?" Yang said.

"Boooooooo," Ebon said.

Yang took an apple to the head from Nora, whom she glares at.

"Booooooooo," Nora said to Yang's look.

Ebon looked over at the girl,"I already said that."

"Booooooo," she said again.

"Look guys, it's been a good two weeks and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But, classes start back up tomorrow! Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today," Ruby went on.

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss said at the same time Ebon said,"Looking forward to it."

Yang threw the offending apple back and Nora, missing and hitting someone else who let out an audible,"Hey!"

"I don't know. I think I might sit this one out," Blake said quietly.

"Sit out or not, I think that however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team!" Weiss declared.

"I got it!" Nora shouts, and Ebon took a pie to the head.

* * *

It took all of a minute for the cafeteria to descend into chaos. JNPR stood above RWBY atop a castle of tables.

"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" Nora sang.

"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" Ruby said, crushing a milk carton, "It will be delicious!"

"Yeah," Ebon's team shouted in unison.

"Off with their heads!" Nora ordered, and the fight began.

JNPR moved swiftly, launching melons at RWBY in an array of fashions.

"Yang, turkeys!" Ruby ordered.

Yang ran to the turkeys and stuck her fists inside them. She proceeded to block the incoming melons in a flurry of motions and punches. After a particularly complex combination, Yang was out of position. Blake came to her rescue, jumping over the blond rolling on the landing, grabbing two Baguettes as she went. As she came up, Blake blocked several more melons, before Yang jumped over her head, and blocked one more with a flying kick. Yang then released her protective turkeys at Pyrrha.

Pyrrha rolled to her left, and the poultry struck Jaune in the forehead and chest instead. Pyrrha grabbed her own Baguette and ran to meet Blake. The two locked bread, Blake's in parallel to one another and Pyrrha's perpendicular to both. Suddenly they moved, spins and flips and clashing Baguettes. Eventually, Blake leapt into the air and threw one of her blades at the champion. The red head stepped back, and the bread snapped in two instead. The champion counter-struck with a swift thrust just as the Faunus was landing, sending her flying backwards and causing her to drop her remaining Baguette. Pyrrha grabbed it from the air and threw it, and others, at Yang, who had climbed on top of a table. Inevitably, the fiery girl was overwhelmed, and like her partner, was sent flying backwards.

Ruby took her place, riding a tray like a skateboard on top of the tables, Ebon running on the ground just behind. Ruby jumped with her tray that threw it at Pyrrha, seeing her as the greatest threat. Pyrrha, dodged, but Ruby had already landed on another tray and flew into the recovering girl tray first, and sent her tumbling backwards with her momentum.

Ren and Nora moved as fast as they could to take her place, but Ebon was already there. He ducked low at an incoming strike from Ren and responded with a knuckle-dusted fist, punched hard into Ren's most sensitive area.

"The hell," the martial artist said in a strained voice, cupping in groin and falling to the side.

"I'm a pirate, what did you-gak," Ebon was cut off as Nora used his head as a platform to launch herself skyward.

She grabbed a flag pole at the apex of her flight, swinging herself further and taking the pole with her. Nora, while landing, shoved her pole into an intact melon, creating a hammer. She spun it triumphantly, then was bonked hard on the head by Ebon. She went down with a thud.

Weiss, who had been coming over to face the orange haired berserker, looked at Ebon in slight confusion.

He shrugged, "Enough tavern brawls and you know where to hit."

He was then sent sprawling by Jaune, who had managed to recover from a turkey smashing his face and dignity. Jaune held a tray out in front with the points of a fork slightly visible. He had apparently spent time jabbing it into the tray to make a shield. He held a Baguette in his other hand. He charged at Weiss jumping in an attempt to overwhelm the snow-queen. Weiss stepped back, placed an elastic glyph above and below the knight, let him bounce a few times, then dissipate the top glyph, letting Jaune fly away and lose his dignity once more.

Pyrrha mage up for it however, using her semblance to launch soda cans at the two closest RWBY members, Yang and Weiss. Both were quickly and painfully sent to the back wall, Weiss crashing into a pillar and falling into Ruby's arms.

"Weiss, Weiss! Don't leave me! Nooo," Ruby mourned.

She stood resolutely, measured the distance, and then ran as fast as she possibly could. She created a whirlwind as she went, picking up everything in the room as she ran past.

"Wait, no, Rub- ahhhhh!" Ebon cried as he was caught up in the outskirts of the wind. He managed to grab hold of a window frame, but was subject to food and the occasional table to the face.

JNPR was also caught up in the wind and became part of a temporary art installation as Ruby shattered the wall behind her from the shear force of her stop and moved to get out of the way.

Ebon fell to the ground and was knocked out cold. Despite his lack of a substantial aura, he wasn't hit by anything big until tables and utensils started flighting at him. The fall finally did him in.

Mrs. Goodwitch marched in with a livid look on her face, and set to work repairing the damage to the room. In mere moments, it was restored to normal.

" Children, please," she said as the teams, minus Ebon, tried to stay composed, "Do not play with your food!"

The teens break out into helpless laughter and giggling, immediately recounting their prowess to the people they just fought, even as Ebon dragged himself over.

Glynda fumed but before she could reply, Ozpin laid a hand on her shoulder,"Let it go."

The telekinetic sighed," They're supposed to be the defenders of the world."

"Yes, but right now they are still children. So why not let them play the part? Especially our resident pirate. After all, it isn't a role they'll have forever, or ever had at all."

Ebon finally made it over to the teams, and began to laugh as well.

* * *

A few days later Ebon stood at the landing pad with his team and several of his crew as a bullhead landed. The door opened and a man surrounded by crates upon crates of equipment was revealed. The man was short, skinny, and as wrinkled as a prune. He wore a suit over his hunched form. He looked like he could die from malnutrition there on the spot. He was grinning like a child, though, his eyes, while bright with mirth, seemed to hold the intellect of one who speaks only when necessary, and listens the rest of the while.

"Good to see you Garnet," Ebon said to the man.

"As I you, ye majesty," he replied with a sudden mischief in his eye.

"Stop that," Ebon said absently, waving to his crew to help Garnet unload.

"And this must be ye lovely team you told me about," Garnet said, looking at the girls. He offered a deep bow,"Tis' a pleasure to be meeting ye."

Weiss responded in kind, but the others were confused.

"I thought he was a pirate, but he seems too…" Ruby said to Ebon.

"…old," Yang finished.

Garnet laughed boisterously, "Ah, that I am me girls, but in name only. I worked for a mob once, don't cha know. No, I was hired by Ebon 'ere as the foremost engineer in piratedom, "Primary Mechanic" they call it."

"Garnet was the one a originally outfitted the Dragonfire," Ebon explained.

"Ah, yes, me great accomplishment that you did destroy. Such a sad thing, my greatest work defeated in so humiliating a manner."

"Sorry," Ebon said with sarcasm.

"Captain, this is that air mattress you wanted," one of Ebon's crew interrupted, holding a box out to the pirate king.

Ebon turned to look at the man, grinning,"Ah, thank you Verde."

Ebon snatched the box out of Verde's grip. He looked over at Garnet," I'll meet you at the crash site in a little bit."

"Of course," the mechanic said.

Ebon turned around to see a questioning look from the girls. His smile faded to a look for worry," Oh, umm, you don't mind if I set up a mattress in the room, right?"

"N-no not at all," Ruby said in reply, shaking her head.

Ebon's smile returned," Good! See you in a bit."

He walked off, the girls watching him as he went.

"I'll be damned," Garnet said softly, but the girls still heard.

"Huh?" Blake inquired.

"He has several problems when it comes to sleeping in bed, doncha know. He'd only do so about the most trustworthy. Ye four young lasses," he said, gesturing to the four," seem to be the only ones. I don't know how you did it, but neither me, nor Jason, have earned that trust, despite our long, long companionship with his young majesty there. It ain't be me place to say why he be like that, but then little of it is known. It be painful fer him."

Ruby remembered what Ebon had said about his secret. Could that be what makes him so terrified of beds?

* * *

It took Ebon a quarter of an hour to arrive at the Dragonfire's resting place. Most of the shrapnel had been cleaned up, but the remaining body of the ship was still half-buried in the earth.

"Oceania's locks! What in the blue did ye do to her!?" Garnet exclaimed in shock upon seeing the ship.

"I did nothing," Ebon said in a matter-of-fact tone,"Fyre is the one who shot her down. Besides, the kitchen exploded."

Garnet continued to shake his head.

"Hold on. You don't mean the Fyre? The one from all those old legends? That would make him at least a thousand years old!" Blake asked skeptically.

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed that he was older than this tired fart," Ebon said, gesturing at Garnet.

"I ain't all that old," Garnet complained," Don't ya see I ain't a fart."

"That's impossible!" Blake cried.

"Gold Dust, when constantly ingested, keeps the vital organs from decay, unlike Silver Dust, which prevents the non vital organs from decay. It's why one is used in expensive medicine and the other in high grade beauty products." Ebon explained.

"I've never heard that," Weiss refuted.

"Then you dad hasn't been getting you the best beauty products then."

"But don't you used Silver Dust?" Ruby asked.

"Yes. I'm going to die looking much as I do now, if I live that long. Now, enough of a lesson. Garnet?"

The older man jumped slightly at being addressed suddenly,"Oh, err… I received yer plans, I think they be workable. It be expensive though."

"That's fine," Ebon said, walking off abruptly.

The girls exchanged glances. Today was shaping up to be weird day.

* * *

Ebon moved quickly to find a secluded place as his scroll kept buzzing. After interrupting two make out sessions, a causal duel, and someone he suspected was a drug dealer, he found a spot and answered," Took you long enough."

A scratchy, low, slurred voice replied," Sorry kid. Has a lloonng night."

"All you nights are long, Qrow."

"True enough. What did you want to talk about?"

Ebon took a deep breath," How do you ask someone out?"

"You're bothering me for that?" he snorted.

"Name someone else I know who can help? There are maybe 3 couples on all of Libratalia, Jason wouldn't be any help, Garnet's never been on a date, none of my friends here could help, and you know what all the professors are like.."

"Ok, ok, fair point. Well, lets see… how well do you know her?"

"Teammate", Ebon could virtually hear the wince,"Yes, I'm aware of what happened, but that was more of a family than team dispute, and you know it."

"I know, I know. Alright which one? Don't tell me it's the Schnee kid."

Ebon chuckled nervously,"umm… hehe… Ruby."

A pause," You know Tai will skin you right?"

"Yep."

"You know I'll skin you right?"

"Yep."

"You know Yang will burn you alive, right?"

"Yep, but only if I hurt her."

"All right kid. Basic advice? Just ask. Really, just suck it up and ask. She's nice enough not to hold it against you."

"Is it always this… nerve racking?"

"Only the first few times or if it's someone you really like. Usually both. I think. I'm drunk most of the time I try."

"Ooff course you are. That's really all it takes?"

"As far as I know."

Ebon sighed," Alright, wish me luck."

"Good luck. I'll kill you if you hurt her."

"I know. Oh! I have your old scythe."

"That's where that went? Doesn't matter now, the new and improved one is just fine."

"I'll give it to Ruby to tinker with then. She's been wanting to for awhile. Alright, see you around."

Ebon hung up, and began walking to his dorm.

* * *

Lying down on his bed, Ebon tried and failed to surprise a shudder. He had to remind himself several time that the bed was his, and he wasn't chained to it. He had to admit, though, that it was really comfortable. If he'd know that, he would have forced himself to get one earlier.

His team was off making some trouble, and it left him time to collect himself. Or it would if Ruby did suddenly dart into the room with a dart gun.

"Umm, hi," Ebon said.

"Hi," she said, catching her breath.

"What I miss?"

"Dart gun fight."

"Sounds fun," Ebon said, standing up," Listen, I know this is terrible timing, but… well, do you, or ohh, would you, rather, like to go out with me?"

Dead silence, followed shortly by the happiest squeal he'd ever heard. She then processed to flying hug Ebon, causing him to fall and miss his bed.

"Yes! Yes! I'm so happy! I was hoping you would ask me!" Ruby hugged the pirate tightly.

"Ruby… air… dying," Ebon choked out.

They stood up, and Ebon asked," Is a dinner and a movie good with you, or do you want something else?"

"No, that fi-"

The door burst open, and Yang rushed in," There you are! Prepare to die!"

Yang pulled the trigger, but nothing came out. She looked down, and found the gun covered in ice. She looked at Ebon, whose open palm was out stretched towards the dart gun," But how…"

Ebon didn't hear, he was too busy berating himself for his stupidity," Of course, negative emotion means chaos and positive means order! I'm a fucking moron! That's how it works in every damn story!"

During this rant, the two girls stared at Ebon, although Ruby did take a moment to shoot Yang in the face.

"So… you can control it now?" Ruby asked.

"Yes. No. Maybe? I think I know how to now, but actual controlling it is probably another thing all together," he shook his head," but that's for another time. What movie do you want to see, Ruby?"

"Ooo! We gonna see a movie?" Yang asked.

"Ruby and I are yes," Ebon replied, still looking at Ruby.

Ebon saw the gears turning in Yang's head in the interim before," Wait, what! You're really-! But- when- how- when- what- gdbgfjd- when!?"

"Just before you tried to shoot her. Thus the positive emotion."

Yang collected her self," If you hurt her-"

"Your uncle already threatened me. I know."

* * *

 **A/N: Tada! Romance has begun. Ohh! And I've started an original story over on DeviantArt. It's called The Adventurer's Guild. Not much is out yet, but the next few chapters are handwritten out. It under the same username over there.**


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